Saturday, March 22, 2008

Luster gone

JayDee Luster is out at NMSU, asking for his release and receiving it.

The Luster situation is a head scratcher to me. This kid received considerable attention coming out of high school and seemed like a pretty good catch for NMSU. Some like him, some don't. The bottom line is that the point guard position could have used some help this year. Sure, Fred Peete did well, but he would have been just as effective, maybe even more so, at the 2-guard.

It just never seemed to me that JayDee got a legitimate shot to play the position. He got limited minutes throughout the year and when he was in, it always seemed like it was at the tail end of games with the team either up or down by at least 15 points.

Luster was very outspoken when Marvin Menzies was intitially hired as the Aggies' head coach but eventually caved and came the NMSU. Did his early antics hurt him and his playing time? Maybe, maybe not. But I think it may have played a factor. Point guard was a position in flux for much of the year for the Aggies. Hard to believe he couldn't have helped in some capacity. I guess we'll never know.

18 comments:

JJ
said...

I think that Jaydee did get his chances. Maybe not at the beginning but duringthe year when they were trying to settle on a point guard. Jaydee is very quick which was good. But he just didn't have a great shot. Therefore it was easy for opponents to only look for a pass from him. He was decent on defense, but once a taller guard got inside on him, his height became a big liability. As a freshman he was still pretty good. He could still have helped the team. But he may not have received the playing time he wanted. I wish the best for him where ever he ends up.

I dont think that Luster leaving should be much of a surprise this time around. Like Teddy said, he was very outspoken of leaving when Menzies came and was not happy with the playing time that he got this year. Although he did not show his potential in the few minutes that he received, I think he would have been the fit for the starting spot next year. Joyner still has to adapt to the system and Fat Cat never seemed to have the offense in sync. I think that Menzies needs to have a strong recruiting class to keep up with Nevada this season and to give Herb and JY a more talented supporting cast

JayDee was in a very tough situation after Theus left. I am sure when Luster was recruited by Theus, he was told he would get every opportunity to be a major contributor the first year. With the emergence of Young and the new class of recruits, JayDee probably felt his playing time would be limited. Nothing wrong with somebody wanting to play. I don't believe his size was an issue. Sam Crawford was smaller but could shoot better. I think he will be able to find a spot at another DIV 1 progam. Aggies fans don't despair, players change programs all the time. I believe we will be deep at guard next year and things will be ok. I wish Luster well.

I think its unfair to speculate that Luster didn't get PT because Menzies was "upset" about his disposition on Theus leaving. I think Menzies is a much bigger person than that. Instead, I think that Luster did suffer from having more experienced (cole) and better athletes (Peete and Gibson) ahead of him.

Being quick is great. Being a great defender with some size and the poise to run a team is something else.

You guys at the LC sun news need to chill.It's only an arraignment not a verdict!

I'm sure there are DWI, assault, murder, etc. cases going on and we are not going to hear about them cause, you guys worried more about burrying a 19 year old athlete even before he gets his day in court!!

JY has every right to be upset. Isn't he supposed to innocent until proven guilt?!

How scary is the leadership for next year's team? Gibson, Pope, and Young. Those aren't exactly three upstanding leaders. If you know anything about each guy you'd be worried.I'd expect a big drop off in team chemisty and wins.

The court appearance was reported because Jahmar Young is an athlete at NMSU (a good one who has a bright future) and anytime something positive or even negative happens, it will get playing time here in Las Cruces. Jahmar nobody has said you are guilty. Until it is proven in a court of law, I myself presume you are innocent along with the court system. Just let your case go through the legal system. In the mean time continue with with your schooling and do your best in the classroom. Tomorrow this article will be lost for some other news item.

anon at 10:$2If we didn't report the arraignment, you or another poster would question why we weren't doing our job or accusing us of covering things up for NMSU. That's part of our job and I accept that. I have read several posts or emails questioning the status of Young's situation so we reported the next step. It is a misdemeanor and he will move on and have a productive career. He's obviously frustrated, but he didn't have to seek out a reporter after the proceeding in the court room.

Luster NEVER got a fair shot. Several local coaches and hardcore basketball fans I have visited with were amazed to see minutes given to another point guard player earlier in the year who had multiple turnovers, limited assists, no points to speak of, no outside shots, panicked when driving to the whole and poor defense. Yes there were many minutes given to this kid. As for Jay Dee for those of you who do not know, in High School in San Diego he was second in points, assists and points only to Jason Kidd in California history. He was also recuited by Xavier, Gonzaga, UTEP, Fresno St. Creighton Etc. He was a legitimate D1 player...on our bench.

If anyone recorded the Duke game or just remembers it you need to compare the point guard from the first half to when Jay Dee went in the second half. You will notice that is when we made a mini run and closed the point spread and yes it forced Coach K to call a time out. As for when Jay Dee got in during the year it was limited minutes with a very quick hook, without time for him to get in the flow of the game. Jay Dee was an outside threat, was not afraid to take it to the rim, and would have been a great point guard if given a fair chance to develop(minutes in front the other point guard player). I will condede that he may have had problems in practice or may have had internal issues with Menzies, we will never know for sure. But he never helped NMSU while on the bench. Jay Dee we wish you well, get your diploma and I hope we never have to see you play against us, you will be too motivated.

I am sorry to see Luster go. I am sure felt he deserved more play time than he received. The times I saw him he was very quick and could penetrate inside. However, Pete and Young played great defense and maybe Menzies felt that Luster might not have been a good matchup. Either way Jay Dee good luck with your future and thanks playing at NMSU.

I feel he would have been an awesome player. If you replay the game against the Texas team (which is the only game he played 17 minutes in the first half) we were up by 20 at half time. The second have he didn't get in and we lost the game. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Good look! You will be missed.

Sorry to beat a dead horse here, but I am a teacher at JayDee's high school, and ya'll missed out. I'm HOPING and PRAYING that as an SDSU alumni, I can convince him to come back to San Diego and play for the Aztecs. If not, USD would be OK with me too. Kid is truly gifted when it comes to basketball. Shame that he was recruited with promises of major playing time as a Freshman, and then benched for such a large portion. I guess that's what happens when a coach recruits you and then gets a better gig though.